


You're Nothing, But Not To Me

by hotknifer



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Analysis, Essays, F/M, Parallels, Pride and Prejudice References, Romeo and Juliet References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 20:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13666794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotknifer/pseuds/hotknifer
Summary: A light hearted, semi formal essay in progress that analyses the dynamic between Rey and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo.





	1. Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which you get to know my personality

Hello, yes, it is I, the great Bri. Now, I have lots of feelings, (shocker, I know), and the majority of them are about Star Wars and a certain two characters who have a very interesting dynamic set up between them to say the least. Full of literary parallels, rather suggestive dialogue, and things that I dug really deep to find out when I should have been doing something important like homework, the pairing I am referring to can only be Rey and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo.

Hey, stop it. I can tell you're rolling your eyes and marking me down as some dumb reylo, and… you'd be absolutely right. Why else would I be writing a bloody essay on two fictional characters who probably won't end up together? Well, firstly my love for English, Drama, and Media Studies. Subjects I'm passionate about along with a franchise I grew up with means that I care more about this than I probably should, I admit. Secondly, I legitimately cannot be bothered to use the time I'm going to spend writing this to do revision for my exams, or the homework that's due in inevitably soon. Who cares about sine and cosine rules, atom economy, and the law of conservation of mass when instead you could be crying over a fictional pairing? Not me.

Anyway, my intentions and reasons for writing this aside, let's do a quick disclaimer. Uno: this is all my interpretation of the source material and not gospel. Dos: I don't care if you ship them or not, opinions are cool and I respect yours. Tres: this may be a bit of an all over the place analysis, but I will try and keep my points together.

Maintenant, allons-y!


	2. The Films

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of my deep analysis of these two. some of it is probably a reach, but what can you do

My first point, I'm afraid, isn't that factual. It's just the fact that both of them are adorable and I need to get that out of my system before I actually discuss this for real. They have more similarities than you'd realise at first glance, for example both of them felt detached and isolated due to lack of familial love, whether literally or, in Kylo’s case, perceived. In addition to this, they understand each other better than anyone else. Their literal connection through the force bond links them together despite the odds and throughout the course of Episode VIII we see the understanding between them growing, and the intense hatred on Rey’s side that seemed so set in stone in Episode VII visibly transformed into something more ambiguous and confusing for her. She's conflicted and so is he, and they are drawn to each other like magnets. 

Point two is another one that could be argued as non-factual since its not from the canon, but honestly who could forget the iconic tweet by the star wars official twitter account? The simple phrase “*rey and Kylo doesn't count!” shook the reylo community to the core. Finally, on a post about favourite spaceships, they had been recognised. I think this might be one of the new mottos for the reylo community, and I for one will never not look back fondly on the explosion of retweets and screenshots posted on Instagram. Ah, for the ship recognised by the creator is such a sweet feeling.

So, let's talk chronologically. The first film in the new trilogy, as you know, is The Force Awakens. We were introduced to new characters and the dynamic between Rey and Kylo seemed pretty straightforward on the surface. However, after I left the cinema in 2015 with a star he feeling. Something felt… off about a number of scenes, although at that time I couldn't quite place my finger on it. The interrogation and the lightsaber battle are the most prominent ones in my memory. 

So let's begin with the interrogation scene. Call me dirty minded, but oh my god the sexual undertones were very strong and a bit concerning. The iconic quote “You know I can take whatever I want.” is honestly difficult to take any other way, especially with how Adam Driver delivers the line. The heavy breathing from Rey, added to the fact she cannot take her eyes off him for the life of her really makes me break out in giggles whenever I watch it. The camera angles too, the big close up on their faces during the moment of intense eye contact they have still leaves me absolutely shook to this day. It's such a contrast to when Poe is interrogated, Kylo even calls Rey his “guest” and talks to her softly and with patience, whereas he shows absolutely no gentleness with Poe. 

Another example of romantic sounding dialogue from this scene is the ambiguous “Don't be afraid, I feel it too.” Which, to me, implies the beginning of the understanding and connection they have together. This is the first time they interact alone, and it becomes clear that they are the literal representation of yin and yang in this franchise. Darkness and light, one can't exist without the other, and each has a little bit of the other in it. 

The lightsaber duel they have in The Force Awakens is also an example of sexual undertones and innuendo, most prominently in the moment where Kylo and Rey are close together, lightsaber to lightsaber, and she tries to use the force. Kylo fixes her with another intense stare and she lowers her gaze, eyes half closed and breathing heavily yet again. I mean, come on! It's not exactly subtle. The BCU camera shots further emphasise this fight as a metaphor for sex, a recurring theme in the franchise thus far: sex, but not actually. 

These scenes certainly portray the sexual side of their relationship, however there is a hell of a lot more romance in the second film of the new trilogy, The Last Jedi. Oh boy, it's a cracker of a film! 

Often labelled as what kickstarted the majority of reylo shippers, the most key thing that occurs in this film is the force bond between Kylo and Rey being strengthened to the point they can communicate with each other. One of the most powerful scenes of the star wars franchise was the moment that Rey and Kylo touched fingertips in the hut. These two people on opposite sides of a war that keeps them apart (Romeo and Juliet much?) reassuring each other “You are not alone” and “Neither are you.” is poetic in its beauty. They see a side in each other that no one else sees, Rey sees the light still left in Kylo and Kylo sees the flare of dark that runs through Rey, and this leads to a mutual understanding that is crucial to the plot of Episode VIII, and if we're lucky will be even more important in Episode IX. 

It is so simple and romantic from the way they look at each other to the gentle gasp as their fingers actually touch. The lighting of this scene is also stunning, a golden, warm hue cast by the fire in the hut. This adds to the romantic atmosphere, and it could even be said that it's foreshadowing for a Ben Solo redemption arc, a point I will return to later. For now, the fire represents their relationship and passion for each other growing. Also, I'm still mad they were cockblocked by Luke.

After Luke explodes the hut, Rey confronts him immediately on his actions towards Ben the night he turned fully to the dark side. She protects his honour and in her rage starts a fight with Luke, the person she's looked up to all these years because he had the notion of killing Ben due to the darkness inside of him. Rey tells Luke that his biggest mistake was assuming that Ben's mind was fully made up, and that “It wasn't.”. 

Another force bond moment that was brilliant was the one from which the most iconic meme of 2017/18, Ben Swolo, was born. Rey seeing Kylo shirtless and being flustered enough to stumble over her sentence shows her physical attraction to him. Furthermore, he walks seductively towards her, as if he knows what he's doing and where her thoughts are.

Yet another force bond moment that showed their dynamic was the first one. Rey immediately goes to attack Kylo, both verbally and physically, and he just curiously watches her and treats her with patience. She calls him a “murderous snake” and he couldn't seem to care less, too focused on trying to figure out the nature of their bond. 

My next point is from the scene where Rey first class posts herself to her boyfriend Kylo and you can see that the makeup team put extra effort into making Rey look beautiful for when she arrives on the starkiller base to see him and try and convert him to the light. Kylo’s hair has also been done to perfection and they both look very put together and handsome. 

The most romantic moment by far was the elevator scene. Rey steps forward towards Kylo, with the softest expression expression on her face and whispers “I can help you.” and a close up is used to frame both of their faces in that moment. Everything about the scene suggests a kiss would naturally come next, how close they are to each other and how obviously Rey cares for him. The yin and yang imagery us further solidified here too, rey has a white background behind her and Kylo has a dark one behind him. Rian Johnson also confirmed that it was during this scene that Kylo decides he's going to kill Snoke, “He's knows he's going to do this but he doesn't know how yet.”, and also that Kylo killed Snoke for Rey because of “that connection with her” in the elevator. 

Rey tells Kylo that “When [they] touched hands [she] saw his future”, a future in which he is on the light side with her. Kylo then responds that “when the time comes, [she] will be the one to turn. ” and even directly says to her “You'll stand with me.”. Despite their varying visions, there is one constant: they are at each other's side. 

During the fight against the Praetorian Guards shortly after, Kylo and Rey fight together and perfectly in sync, on the same side. This is beautiful symbolically, and the way in which they help and protect each other shows the balance in the force being finally achieved: dark and light fighting together. For a few minutes, they are their own side together, and are almost like grey jedi. Due to the balance, together they are neither light nor dark, and their raw connection allows them to fight together and win against a large group of highly trained guards. 

Kylo’s offer to Rey to rule the galaxy together and bring a new order was another highly romantic moment, and they way in which it was done made it sound as though it was a marriage proposal. This scene was the most heartbreaking to watch in the cinema, and I will admit I cried both times I saw it. Referring back to the Romeo and Juliet esque forbidden love aspect of their relationship, this was when Rey had to turn down his offer because they were on opposing sides of the war and she had commitment to her friends and the rebellion. Rey looks longingly and pleadingly at him, begging him “don't do this”. 

Which brings me perfectly onto my next point which will be discussed in the next chapter, known as ‘Reverse Anidala’.


End file.
